'Green market' to observe Earth Day over weekend

TAIPEI -- Environmentally minded organizations will set up a "green market" of 60 booths over the weekend to encourage sustainable consumption ahead of Earth Day, organizers said Thursday.

Visitors to the two day market will be able to purchase organic food products and meet the local farmers who grew them, while eco-artists will show how to make household goods using recycled materials, according to the Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA).

The event at the Nanmen Park campus of the National Taiwan Museum will also include discussion forums and activities to brainstorm better methods of development, especially in terms of construction, energy use and transportation, according to TEIA campaigner Lin Lin.

Lin said the market is just one event in a larger campaign for this year's Earth Day theme of green cities, which will run through early June and is expected to bring 15,000 participants.

Earth Day began in 1970 to raise awareness of the natural environment and environmental issues. In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day.